www.escambiacms.org MARCH/APRIL 2014
BULLETIN Editors: Hillary Hultstrand, M.D. Erica Huffman, Executive Director
VOLUME 44, NO. 2 Brace Yourself
UPCOMING EVENTS Thursday, May 8, 2014 Pensacola Yacht Club 5:30p General Membership Meeting 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ “Sexual Dysfunction” Sponsors: Danna Gracey Insurance, Safe Harbor Tax Advisory, Gulf Coast Health Care, Home Instead ~ Tuesday, August 12, 2014, 5:30p Young Physicians Section Sponsors: Safe Harbor Tax Advisory, Catalyst CRE, Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance, Southern Cloud Accounting, Dyken Wealth Strategies, McMahon & Hadder Insurance
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I was hoping to crack a joke at the beginning of this article, but the serious nature of what I have to say does not lend itself to humor. There is plenty going on with the legislative front. If you don’t already get updates from the FMA, I recommend you give them your E-mail address, so that these issues do not take you by surprise. The final week of pre-session committees was notable for hundreds of bills being filed to meet the deadline. This included the FMA’s Managed Care Bill which is designed to help streamline and standardize the preauthorization process. They also introduced the Health Care Clinic Bill which would eliminate a loophole that allows non-physician owned health clinics to avoid inspection. But the big news came in the form of an unfriendly bill. It is an ARNP scope of practice expansion bill known as the House ARNP Independent Practice Bill. As written, this bill would essentially grant to the newly designated Independent Practice Registered Nurse the full medical privileges, including the right to prescribe controlled substances, without even a collaborative agreement with a physician. It was argued that the patients deserved the standard of care that only physicians can provide. Despite this, on Tuesday, February 18, 2014, the Florida House Select Committee on Workforce Innovation passed this bill by a vote of 13-2 to allow ARNPs to practice medicine without the supervision or collaboration of a physician. The vote drew bipartisan support, but several members said their support was tentative, and that they wanted to see further debate and some tweaks. All those voting for it credited their faith in the “hard work and good intentions” of state Rep. Cary Pigman, R-Sebring, an emergency room doctor who has spent months researching and crafting the bill. That’s right. An emergency room physician is trying to eliminate any barrier between how we define the role of physician and ARNP. This is not just a primary care issue. There
is nothing in this bill that would prevent an ARNP from leaving the office where she/he currently works for the cardiologist and moving across the street to see the same patients Dr. Laenger who have become used to seeing the ARNP as their “cardiologist.” This could apply to any other sub-specialty, for that matter. The FMA is already working to defeat this bill, but I urge every one of you to contact your state Representative and let him or her know your concerns. I would also ask you to consider calling state Rep. Cary Pigman to see whether speaking with him doctor-to-doctor can help him to understand how negatively this would impact our patients. I made my phone calls to the state representatives who were on the committee before the vote took place and generally left voicemails, so it took almost no time on my part. But, I was particular impressed that state Rep. Gayle Harrell returned my call. She was previously a practice manager for her husband’s large OB/GYN practice and she wanted my input on how this would impact my practice. She was one of the two brave enough to vote against this bill. My point: these Representatives truly want to connect with voters and it would be worth your while to make a few phone calls. State House-District 1 Representative Clay Ingram District Office 11000 University Parkway Pensacola , FL 32514-5732 Phone: (850) 494-7330
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